FINANCE SERVICE CUTS LEAVE INDIGENOUS CENTRAL AUSTRALIANS THE POORER

ederal Member for Lingiari Warren Snowdon has called on Social Services Minister Christian Porter to reinstate funding so a vital Indigenous financial services program can continue operating in Central Australia.

Mr Snowdon said Alice Springs-based Tangentyere Council has been offering financial counselling and literacy services to Indigenous people living on Alice Springs town camps and in the wider region for more than 20 years.

,^^^,THE HON WARREN SNOWDON MP

SHADOW PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY FOR INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

SHADOW PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY FOR NORTHERN AUSTRALIA

SHADOW PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY FOR EXTERNAL TERRITORIES

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR LINGIARI

FINANCE SERVICE CUTS LEAVE INDIGENOUS CENTRAL AUSTRALIANS THE POORER

Federal Member for Lingiari Warren Snowdon has called on Social Services Minister Christian Porter to reinstate funding so a vital Indigenous financial services program can continue operating in Central Australia.

Mr Snowdon said Alice Springs-based Tangentyere Council has been offering financial counselling and literacy services to Indigenous people living on Alice Springs town camps and in the wider region for more than 20 years.

But Minister Porter has decided that a new one size fits all model will do and Tangentyere has lost its specialised financial counselling service.

Indigenous Central Australians will be at risk of becoming even more disadvantaged by this ill-conceived approach.

Over more than 2 decades of operating this service Tangentyere has built up important trust, knowledge and community connections that has seen more than 1,000 clients assisted in the past two years alone.

Under Minister Porters new model, funding for financial counselling services in the Alice Springs region has almost halved.

This is despite it being widely recognised that Indigenous people living in remote areas are particularly vulnerable when it comes to issues around financial literacy.

The Turnbull Government pays lip service to developing the North yet a strong and economically viable sector can only be built on sound financial and commercial literacy.

While Im sure the new provider of these services will do their very best, the fact remains that 20 years of experience and trust relationships delivering sensitive financial services in a culturally safe way has gone out the window.

Minister Porter needs to look at funding Tangentyere Council to continue providing its successful financial literacy programs to Indigenous people in the Centre.